Developing ICT platform for enhancing agricultural productivity: The Case Study of EID Parry

B. Bowonder and Yelwender Yadav

Abstract

India traditionally is an agrarian economy, where even today 40% of the country’s

GDP is derived from agriculture and agriculture products. Lately the Indian farmer

community was not exposed to the use of ICT for its well-being, but since the Indian

private sector has entered the arena, the acceptability of the latest innovations and

tools by the farmer has increased.

EID Parry, the group company of Murugappa Group, is one of the pioneers in the

pesticides and agro-products. It was the first company to start sugar mill in India.

The company launched the Parry’s Corner ICT initiative to derive the synergies from

its vast experience and the farmers knowledge pool. The spread of the information

kiosk was limited to the paddy and sugarcane clusters in Tamil Nadu. Parry’s Corner

was pivotal in increasing the yields and reducing the expenditures for the farmers.

Farmers here are able to access wide range of information from the information

kiosk’s such as the climatic conditions, knowledge about the urea, fertilizers, seeds

and also the cropping patterns. Other ancillary information was also provided such as

regular employment news and latest happenings around the world.

Keywords: Agricultural Information Kiosks, Information Dissemination, Networked Community, CorDECT WLL Technolgy, Parry’s Corner Biographical Notes:

1. Dr. B. Bowonder is a Dean, Tata Management Training Centre, His Contact

address is: Dean, Tata Management Training Centre, No.1, Mangaldas Road, PUNE – 411 001, India, Tel: 91-20-612 0141, E-Mail: bowonder@tata.com

2. Mr Yelwender Yadav is a Research Associate, Administrative Staff College of India , Bella Vista, Hyderabad – 500 082, India.

EID Parry

1

Introduction

There is one thing that makes the villages falling under the radius of twenty-five

kilometers with center as Nellikuppam Sugar factory, different from other umpteen

villages in the country. Here the farmers, old or young, educated or otherwise, are

not scared of mouse. The mouse we are talking about here is the computer mouse.

The farmers in Tamil Nadu have ripped the benefits of ICT for improving their well-

being and the standard of living. The farmers here have derived benefits such as

elimination of middlemen, increasing their knowledge about the cropping patterns

and increased their incomes with marginal investments made on ICT by EID Parry

[1,2]. The scope of the case study is to examine the factors that facilitated the

diffusion of ICT in a farming community and the benefits of this activity. EID Parry

benefited by being able to source the raw material at a lesser price without any

middlemen, the low cost technology helped them in achieving a better return on

investment ration. This case study helps in seeing various factors how the company

created a win: win situation for themselves and the farmers and building mutual

trust [2].

Murugappa Group

The Murrugappa Group is one of the oldest family run business in India, it has an

aggregate turnover of Rs.42,000 million and has diversified interests ranging from

abrasives, engineering, farm inputs, confectioneries, chemicals and financial

services. It is a firm with strong ethical values and believes in strengthening the

cultural aspects of the community residing around its units. Coromandel Fertilizers,

another subsidiary caters to the needs of rural farmers. EID Parry pioneered in the

manufacturing of sugar in India. It is also pioneered in the field of sanitary-ware and

bio-pesticides. ParryAgro is involved in plantations and production of algae products.

Parry’s Confectionery another arm of company specializes in producing chocolates

and confectioneries. TI India, the group subsidiary manufactures tubes, cycles and

car doorframes. EID Parry is the first private sector phosphatic fertilizer producer, it

has interests in sugar, chemicals, farm inputs and bio-chemicals. The company has

been continually and consistently supporting the farmers with various farm extension

services like village adoption and crop advisory services. The company is also

involved in soil sampling analysis and recommendations to the farmers. The soil

sampling services have benefited more than 7500 farming communities. The

company’s another service, farms storm is aimed at educating the villagers about

nutrient management and EID products. The company is actively involved in the

EID Parry

2

The Murugappa group Sales profile

Plantations3%

Finance6%

BMG3%

Farm Inputs37%

Sugar 8%

Marketing 1%

Food Processing3%

Abrasives and Refractories

9%

Engineering 30%

group contact, which is another extension of farm services. In this group contact

progressive activities like crop seminars and farmers meetings are conducted.

Fig 1 : The share of various businesses

The Murugappa group derives sixty percent of its revenue and profits from rural

India as shown in Fig 1. The group wanted to take more concrete and holistic

approach towards bettering lives and fostering the progress of the farming

community. The group’s vision was “To make farmers three times richer in five

years”.

EID Parry - Sugar Division

EID Parry - Sugar Division is India’s first integrated sugar complex in Nellikuppam in

Tamil Nadu State. There are 4 sugar factories in Tamil Nadu.

EID Parry

3

EID Parry assists sugar farmers in activities such as:

• Crop Insurance and Crop loans

• Hellsin procurement

• Nutrient and Pest management

• Continuous crop monitoring

• Adopting latest technologies

• Diffusion of labor for harvesting and

• Arranging labour for harvesting.

EID Parry has 25 divisional offices in 4 districts and undertakes the activities through

158 Cane Officers reaching 80,000 farming families.

Idea initiation

EID Parry (I) Ltd. is more than 212 years old, one of the oldest sugar mill in the

world. It is serving the farming community for over 160 years through its sugar

division and its farm inputs division. Its sheer presence in the rural areas propelled

the mutual growth of company and the farming community. Through joint work it

has created long lasting relationships based on mutual trust. The chairman of the

Murugappa group, of which EID Parry (I) Ltd. is a flagship company, believes:

“The fundamental principle is that no man you transact will lose then you

shall not.”

- Arthashastra His vision was to envisage a project that can create a win: win condition both for industry and farmers.

Project Conceptualization

Mr K. Raghunandan, Vice President (IS) and his team started looking at ways and

means of realizing their chairman’s vision. They held several focus group meetings

and brainstorming sessions. More than one hundred and fifty farmers were met to

understand their problems and information needs through the focus groups and open

meetings. These sessions had given them deep insights into the ground realities and

other latent needs of the farmers. The following are the points that emanated from

these sessions.

BMG3% 37%6%

1%Food 3%Sugar8%

Plantatio

EID Parry

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• Lack of relevant information: The chronic problems plaguing Indian

agriculture is neither the lack of technology nor the R&D efforts but the

inadequacy, ineffectiveness and inefficiencies in the dissemination of relevant

information to the farming community - including but not limited to the right

cultivation practices, correct post-harvesting techniques, and up-to-date

information on market prices of commodities. The farmer is thus caught in the

quagmire of sub optimal use of farm inputs, higher cost of credit and lower

price realizations on his produce leading to insignificant disposable incomes

for him and his family.

• Difficulty in disseminating information: The field inspector from EID

Parry generally visit the fields of the farmers to understand their problems

and solves them if they could or else they communicate this to the experts

who then solves these problems. But this is easier said than done, because

the task itself is a herculean because there are nearly 80,000 to 100,000

sugarcane growers and few field inspectors.

• Lack of knowledge in allied business arenas: Most of the farmers are

not venturing into other business like mushroom cultivation, Bee keeping,

poultry and other livestock’s business, which actually has a tremendous

potential for realizing additional income. Majority of the farmers are not

cultivating the crop, which actually suits their field’s soil and temperature

because they lack the knowledge for cultivating such crops.

• Feeling of being cut off from rest of the world: Farming is not the only

thing for farmers, they also need entertainment, knowledge of schools,

colleges and universities where they can enroll their children.

After understanding such ground realities it was up to Mr K Raghunandan and his

group to identify a project that could help solve the above-identified problems. The

focus of Indian industry was on the upper income families, though the value

opportunity was the other way around. Rural communities have limited choices, as

investment in rural infrastructure has been low. The physical divide of assets thus

resulted in asymmetry in the provision of assets as shown in Fig 2.

Accordingly, EID Parry conceptualized project that can provide choices for rural

communities. This is the basis of this project.

EID Parry

5

Fig 2: Basis of the project

The group’s vision “To make farmers three times richer in five years” doesn’t merely

connotes monetary prosperity but also includes social prosperity, which together in

harmony makes the farmers to lead a happy life, as shown in Fig 3.

Fig 3: Prosperity in a Rural Community

WELLBEING OF THE RURAL COMMUNITY

OccupationalKnowledge

MarketInformation

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

OccupationalKnowledge

MarketInformation

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

General Information& Access

SOCIAL PROSPERITY

General Information& Access

SOCIAL PROSPERITY

MarketInformation

• Technology, Telecom, Content by itself will make little impact• Compelling commercial collaboration is the key to driving prosperity• Deep insights and physical presence makes the difference

Knowledge

No. of households- by income

High 2mn(>75,000 p.a)

Med 40 mn(20,000 to 75,000)

Low 75 mn(< 25,000)

Current Structure… The Concept

The Divide:PhysicalDigital

Industry has an urban bias

The divides are more pronounced in rural India

Valueopportunity

Valueloss

Thus prices of farm and non-farm produce from rural India are low.

And rural communities have limited choices in Credit/Banking Insurance.

Population

Industry focus

ValueLoss

No. of households- by income

High 2mn(>75,000 p.a)

Med 40 mn(20,000 to 75,000)

Low 75 mn(< 25,000)

Current Structure… The Concept

The Divide:PhysicalDigital

Industry has an urban bias

The divides are more pronounced in rural India

Valueopportunity

Valueloss

Thus prices of farm and non-farm produce from rural India are low.

And rural communities have limited choices in Credit/Banking Insurance.

Population

Industry focus

ValueLoss

EID Parry

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Fig 4: The concept of the networked community

EID Parry envisaged the creation of a networked community for enhancing social

welfare that consists of both economic and social needs of the rural community. This

in turn will enhance the rural income and demand as shown in Fig 4.

The portal www.indiagriline.com was envisaged as a medium that can bridge the

digital divide between the rural and urban community [4]. The Parry’s Corner will

serve as access centers for rural farmers from where they can not just log on to the

World Wide Web, look out various solutions for the problems encompassing their

agricultural work and check their transactional details with the company (EID Parry

Sugar factory at Nellikuppam) but also serves as a point where they can get all the

required EID Parry products under one common platform. Apart from the above

benefits the Parry’s Corner also procures crops like Wheat, Rice etc once the farmer

is willing to do so. This will help the farmer to get rid of problems like middlemen’s

commission, inappropriate weighing, eternal delay in payment by the brokers,

logistical problems and wafer thin margins. The network can eliminate the problems

of poor access to information and market. The network will enhance the

transparency and reduce the problems of information asymmetry. Once the farmers

sell their harvested crop to Parry’s Corner and they will be devoid of the problems

and will be getting better margins and at the same time their payment is settled with

in the twenty days of procuring. Thus, the project in one stroke bridges the digital

divide that the internet has ushered in among the urban haves and the rural have-

Indiagriline – The positioning Networked Businesses

The concept

FacilitatorsNGOs,Govt.

Universities

“Urbanized”Producers of Goods andServices

Urban ConsumerAnd

Export Market

FacilitatorsNGOs,Govt.

Universities

“Urbanized”Producers of Goods andServices

Urban ConsumerAnd

Export Market

Partners for Rural Credit

Warehousing Transportation

Physical Divide “Parrys Corner”

(franchised)

“Digital Divide”Indiagriline.com

Partners for Rural Credit

Warehousing Transportation

Physical Divide “Parrys Corner”

(franchised)

“Digital Divide”Indiagriline.com

Generating Demand

Generating Supplies

Indiagriline.com

Generating Supplies

Generating Demand RURAL COMMUNITY

EID Parry

7

nots by providing farmers the triple aspects of Content, Connectivity and Commerce

which will then propels the economic and social well-being of the rural farmers

Features of Indiagriline

The content for www.indiagriline.com has been developed by using the in-house

expertise of EID Parry’s Sugar and Farm Inputs Division and Corporate R&D Lab

along with the TamilNadu Agriculture University and its Research Stations,

TamilNadu University for veterinary and Animal Sciences, National Horticulture

Board, AMM Foundation, Murugappa Chettiar Research Center and the other players

in agriculture related media and publishing houses. EID Parry is trying to bring more

visual content.To make the experience richer and navigation easier, the portal is in

completely vernacular (Tamil) with localized content and the site is equipped with

mouse-overs, voice-overs and touch-screen kiosk is enabled. In order to overcome

the bandwidth problem and make downloads faster it is equipped with On-Off line

browsing –WebROM. The content of www.indiagriline.com consisted of four distinct

information segments as shown in Tables 1 to 4, namely

§ farm information

§ farm business

§ community information and

§ other services.

EID Parry

8

Table 1. Farm information

Agriculture General agriculture: General information on Seeds, Soils Crop information: Six important crops of Cuddalore

• Sugarcane • Paddy • Groundnut • Banana • Tapioca • Cashew

Veterinary Dairy farming and Poultry Special topics Farmyard manure, vermicomposting and coir pith composting techniques,

Mushroom cultivation. The content regarding the farm information is collected from:

• EID Parry’s R&D Division, Sugar Division and Farm inputs Division • TNAU- Research stations • MCRC • CIKS • AMM Foundation

EID Parry

9

Table 2 Farm business

Markets and market prices Regulated market rates and Local market rates for agricultural commodities in the areas of

Panruti, Cuddalore, Vrindachalam, Red hills and Koyambedu. This information is collected from: • Local personnel • Government regulated market committees

For each market the following table is shown: Name of the crop Units Maximum price Minimum price Average

price

Financial and Insurance schemes Loans available for vehicles, education etc and procedures of Nationalized and co-operative banks, SIDCO, Insurance, National Horticulture Board and APEDA is put up The above information is collected by local personnel from: • State bank of India • Indian bank • New India assurance • United India assurance Shopping guide for agri inputs Consists of dealer’s list dealing with Seeds, Pesticides and Fertilizers. Cane Management System (CMS) A special application for EID Parry’s sugars division. This web enabled CMS is meant for: • For registered cane growers to access transactional details with the company. The tentative format

of table which farmer access when he surf the site indiagriline.com to check his transactional details is:

Season name

Farmers-id Plot no. Farmer’s name

Village name

Division code

Division area

Amount settled

• For officers to organize Farm labor contract • For labor contractors to access transaction details with the company Further, farmers can access information about:

• Availability of Cane sets at nursery for planting • Availability of Fertilizers and Pesticides stock • Payment records from company • Loan outstanding • Cane Crushed and recovery details of the factory

EID Parry

10

Table 3. Community Information

Welfare schemes

• Government welfare schemes - eligibility criteria, application procedures, benefits Education Names and addresses of schools, polytechnics, computer centers in Cuddalore Names and addresses of engineering colleges in TamilNadu Health

Names and addresses of hospitals (govt. and private) in Cuddalore, information on nutrition and some frequently asked questions (FAQs)

NGOs

Their stated objectives and programs with contact address

Entertainment

Linked to www.tamilcinema.com and some other games site The information is collected from:

• District Collector’s office • District administrative officers in various Departments • AMM • MCRC

EID Parry

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Table 4. Services Provided

News

• General news • Agri news • Forthcoming events in agriculture • Sugarcane R&D news • Indiagriline club news

E-mail Weather

• Local weather forecast for next forty-eight hours plus crop wise recommendation for agricultural operations

• Agricultural advisory from Indian Meteorological Department Notice board

For success stories and notices for items up for sale Others

• Horoscope and Matrimonial: linked to www.tamil.indiainfo.com • What is Internet and why so useful • How to Use the Site • Search within • Glossary of terms • Keyboard Help

EID Parry

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Connectivity

To make Indiagriline happen the company was scouting for an appropriate

technology that could connect the farmers who resides in rural areas that does not

have even basic telephone lines. During this period they came across several

Internet access technologies and on-going projects were examined with respect to

cost, reliability and presence in rural India. It was found that an indigenously

developed technology (corDECT) by Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala of Indian Institute

of Technology (IIT)-Madras, perfectly fit into their need to provide reliable and low-

cost connectivity. This corDECT (Digitally Enhance Cordless Technology) Wireless

Local Loop technology, patented by IIT Madras, which allows simultaneous flow of

voice and data on a single line at a much cheaper rate and provides 35/70 kbps

simultaneous Internet and telephony within areas of about 25-30 km radius.

CorDect WLL technology provides fixed connection to homes and offices, much like a

landline. The technology is capable of providing data communication at a much

higher bit rate. The model works on convergence network between the local

telephone line and the Internet and it is priced at Rs. 13,000/- per connection, the

cost can be shared by the ultimate end-users.

In early 2001 a corDECT system was deployed with the Access Center at

Nellikuppam, the town where the one fifty year old sugar factory is located. Since

then many internet connections have been given in the villages surrounding the

area. Out of this, twenty-eight are kiosks run by franchisees, who are farmers from

the respective villages. In coming days, the facility will be extended to other villages

falling under the twenty-five kilometer radius.

The Compact Base Station (CBS), which is at the EID Parrys sugarcane factory, hosts

the corDECT server. The DIU (Digital Interface Unit) is the heart of the system.

The Fig 5 shows the directional layout for Nellikuppam project and systems layout at

the CBS, Nellikuppam respectively.

EID Parry

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Fig 5. Directional layout of Nellikuppam project

Paithambadi

UraivurKandarakottai

Ramapakkaangandai Shornavur

Puduppettai

Panruti

Thiruvathigai

Palur

Naduveerapattu

Chittharasar

Vazhapattu

Melapattamvakkam

Kozhipakkam

Maligaimedu

Viswanathapuram

Bahoor

Chemmandalam

VelapakkamNellikuppam

Access Centre - DIU

Relay Base Station (RBS)

Wall Set IP (WS)

Working links

To be cleared link

RBS Link

Paithambadi

UraivurKandarakottai

Ramapakkaangandai Shornavur

Puduppettai

Panruti

Thiruvathigai

Palur

Naduveerapattu

Chittharasar

Vazhapattu

Melapattamvakkam

Kozhipakkam

Maligaimedu

Viswanathapuram

Bahoor

Chemmandalam

VelapakkamNellikuppam

Access Centre - DIU

Relay Base Station (RBS)

Wall Set IP (WS)

Working links

To be cleared link

RBS Link

EID Parry

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About Parry’s Corner

Another key ingredient that makes this project workable is Franchisee model, which

puts the farmer-entrepreneur in the driver’s seat. In this, Franchisee model, EID

Parry selects one of the most promising, influential, entrepreneurial, educated

person willing to learn and use a new technology, generally a farmer entrepreneur

sets up an one stop shop for information called “Parry’s Corner”. The Parry’s Corners,

as they are called, are not the ordinary Internet surfing centers which city-dwellers

use. Most of the kiosks are set up at the residence of a farmer selected by the

company on the basis of his credentials. Each Parry’s Corner has a corDECT wall set,

a PC, digital camera, web camera, multi-functional printer, telephone, furniture and a

power source with a back up. Parry’s Corner not only aims at removing the digital

divide but also the physical divide. They serve as a common roof under which a

farmer can get EID Parry products like fertilizers, seeds, Parry’s chocolate and

confectioneries, TI India cycles etc.

Project Benefits

The farmers are effectively using this facility for different purposes like farming

methods, technical information, computer education of children, entertainment,

international news etc. Sugarcane management system is one of the main feature of

these centres. The farmers who are using information on sugarcane, paddy and

banana cropping patterns from these information centres are getting considerable

benefits.

The benefits realized are

§ decrease in fertilizer use

§ decrease in pesticide us

§ accurate time of cane cutting

§ increase in yields and

§ quick solution to diseases like root borer.

The operators earn Rs.800/- to 2000/- per month through running these information

centres by providing computer education, mailing, internet, DTP, Xerox charges and

also selling EID parry products. The information on village level Parry’s Corner

located around Nellikuppam are given in Table 5. This is based on random survey

and is stated as current income per month at the time of the survey.

EID Parry

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Table 5. Income from Parry’s Corner

Village Operator name

Financial support for

parry’s corner

Parry’s Corners

income/month (Rs.)

Services available at Parry’s corner

Sitharasur Laxmanarayana Bank loan 1000 CMS, Exam results, information on paddy, banana, cotton, chillie games and DTP

Vellapakkam Ramachandran Bank loan 800 CMS, Exam results, information on paddy, cotton, chillie, banana, games and DTP

Tukunampakam Annamalai Bank loan 1500 CMS, Exam results, information on paddy, cotton, chillie, banana, games and DTP

Maligaimedu Satish Kumar Bank loan 2000 CMS, Exam results, information on paddy, cotton, chillie, banana, games and DTP

Nadeveera pattu Ayyanar Bank loan 1200 CMS, Exam results, information on paddy, cotton, chillie, banana, games and DTP

Nathamedu Bala Self Help Group

1000 CMS, Exam results, information on paddy, cotton, chillie, banana, games and DTP

The benefits are enhanced through the provision of value added services and

educational facilities. EID Parry has a tie-up with NIIT India, to provide the computer

education to the farmers children. This will greatly cut down the time spent on

traveling from their village to the nearby city. The classes are conducted at the

Parry’s Corner thrice a week. For each student enrolled for a course the franchisee

will be getting user charges for making use of his premises and his PC. The courses

offered by NIIT-Parry’s Corner is shown in Table 6.

EID Parry

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Table 6. Courses and Commission

Sl. No. Program Total fee

Rs. Hours

Franchisee commission

Rs.

1 C and Data Structures 3500 72 490

2 Visual Basic 6.0 6500 60 910

3 Java 5500 60 770

4 SQL Server 7.0 6500 60 910

5 C++ and C#Migration 4700 72 658

6 Linux and C and C++ 9000 192 1260

7 Linux and C and C++ 6500 144 910

8 Swift Jyoti 599 10 83.86

9 MOUS 750 6 105

10 India 95 (Swift Netsurf, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint)

2749 54 384.96

11 Swift Netsurf 999 24 139.86

12 Expert 95 (Advance Word, Excel and PO)

2999 54 419.86

13 Basic HTML Programming 1800 12 252

14 Basic VB.NET Programming 4800 36 672

15 Basic C# Programming 3600 36 504

Daily Operations at Parry’s Corner and Benefits Derived Some illustrative examples are provided here. Mr Jayapal who is an employee in the

village Patturakotai which is 3 Km away to Parry’s Corner located in Nadeveerapattu,

has been carrying out Cashew Nut Shell Liquid business for the past two years. At

the time of starting, he had no data regarding the market prices, percentage of

cashew etc., After some time, he gained experience for utilizing the data. For the

last one year, EID Parry is running one Parry’s Corner near by his village, every day

he will come there and use this centre. From the beginning he is using the Internet

for collection of data on cashew shell liquid. The information about process

improvement enhanced his income. In the vicinity of the village there is no one who

EID Parry

17

could give such information. The cost of information was a minuscule compared to

the accrued benefits. According to him, before he was cheated by number of

merchants in the form of high price and less percentage cashew shell liquid by

mixing some other liquids.

Economic benefits of the farmers using the Parry’s Corners were assessed in selected

villages. According to the farmers, by using these practices available in the centres it

is very easy to reduce the cost of farming. In many cases there has been an incrase

in productivity. In Nadeveerapattu and in the adjoining villages farmers are getting

good results after practicing the prescribed package. Some farmers have been able

to handle plant diseases such as withering edges of banana leaves, Topioca and

‘Ground Nut Maravatti Puchi disease’ through the use of information. The Ground Nut

Maravatti Puchi disease affects the inside seed of the nut without disturbing the out

side. The savings are reported by various farmers are shown in Table 7.

According to the users of the Parry’s Corner, the method and the duration of

applying fertilizers and pesticides will effectively reduce the production cost. Some

farmers have experienced increase in yield of Sugarcane. The increases reported are

5 to 10 tonnes. In Vellappakan village, people are using the Parry’s Corner for

various purposes such as employment news, global news and to obtain government

policy information.

In Vellappakam village, the farmers were facing Red Rod and Inter Nude Borer

diseases in the Sugarcane crop. This year they successfully managed the crops by

following a Cane Management System. In Sitharasur village, farmers earlier faced

‘Beetle Nut Karundal Bacterial disease’. Now they used information and managed the

beetle nut disease. Forgetting information they use either internet or an e-mail

querry to a research agency.

The Parry’s Corner in Tukunampakam village was started only one month back. Only

the farmers who are the members of EID Parry are using this facility. The villagers

are using the Corner daily for different purposes like Internet, temple information,

astrology, farming methods for paddy, cotton, banana and Cane Management

System. Some farmers are using it for obtaining market information for vegetables

as well as that of market appliances. Along with these, they also learned about

different types of diseases affecting crops, and sowing practices. This year the

EID Parry

18

members of EID parry used it for obtaining information about the cutting date for

sugarcane and soil conditioning practices. The farmers believe that scientific

practices will help them in reducing the production cost and increasing the

productivity.

The cost of one bag of paddy is around Rs.400/- and one tonne of sugarcane is

around Rs.763/- this year. Farmers are utilizing the Parry’s Corner for obtaining

agricultural data on the six important crops at Cuddalore as well as farming practices

and timing of fertilizer application. For all the crops, the farmers have reported

increased income as well as higher productivity. In some cases the benefit has been

in the form of increased yield. In other cases the benefits came in the form of

reduced expenditure. EID Parry officials and EID parry farmer groups are expecting

more results in the coming years, because this year drought conditions are very high

through out the Tamilnadu state. The economical benefits of some of the farmers are

as shown in the Table 7.

EID Parry

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Table 7. Economical Benefits

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) No. of Acres cultivating Yield

Expenditure (Rs.) Name of the

farmer Before use of Parry’s Corner

After use of the Parry’s

Corner Before After

Before After

Savings Through Yield &

expenditure*

NADEVEERAPATTU

Paddy- 1 Paddy- 1 25 B 30 B 6000 5000 3000 Gunalan S/cane-2 S/cane-2 90 T 100 T 30000 26000 11630

Paddy- 4 Paddy- 4 100 B 115 B 24500 21000 9500 Avavali S/cane- 11 S/cane- 11 550 T 572 T 165000 143000 38786

Paddy- 4 Paddy- 4 108 B 120 B 20000 16000 8800 Sreenivasan S/cane- 4 S/cane- 4 200 T 220 T 56000 48000 23260

MALIGAIMEDU

Ravichandran S/cane- 2.5 S/cane- 2.5 162.5 T 162.5 T 37500 33000 4500

PremKumar S/cane- 8 S/cane- 8 400 T 440 T 116000 100000 46520 Kumar S/cane- 7 S/cane- 7 350 T 350 T 103600 95200 8400 Balakrishna Paddy-3 Paddy-3 60 B 90 B 12000 10500 13500 Venkatachalapathi

S/cane- 5 S/cane- 5 300 T 325 T 60000 50000 29075

VELLAPAKKAM

Paddy-15 Paddy-15 375 B 375 B 60000 45000 15000 Rajaram S/cane-15 S/cane-15 720 T 755 T 225000 195000 52890

Paddy-6 Paddy-6 150 B 150 B 27000 22000 4800 Ananta-raman S/cane-6 S/cane-6 240 T 270 T 90000 84000 28890

SITHARASUR

Paddy-8 Paddy-8 240 B 240 B 36000 32000 4000 S/cane-2 S/cane-2 100 T 104 T 28000 26600 4452

Laxmanarayana

Banana-2 Banana-2 - - 40000 35000 5000

NATHAMEDU

Paddy-2 Paddy-2 55 B 60 B 10000 8000 4000 Ramanathan S/cane-2 S/cane-2 50 T 50 T 28500 26500 2000

Paddy-2 Paddy-2 60 B 60 B 10000 8000 2000 Murugan

S/cane-4 S/cane-4 200 T 208 T 60000 56000 10104

Notations used in the table: B for Bags; T for Tonnes; Cost of paddy: 1 bag=Rs.400; Cost of sugarcane per tonne Rs.763 Note: For paddy:

Increase in yield (Bags)* 400+decrease in production cost=savings

For S/cane: Increase in yield (Tonnes)*763+decrease in production cost=savings

Positive synergies were generated between the farmers and ICT and benefits derived

from such synergies like cost savings for the farmers and improvements in the

productivity, which is shown in Table 7.

EID Parry

20

Analyzing economic benefits for Paddy crop

Table 8. Impact on yield and expenditure

Yield of Paddy Crop in bags

Expenditure

in Rs.

Farmer Before using

Parry’s Corner

After using

Parry’s Corner

Impact on yield

Before using

Parry’s Corner

After using

Parry’s Corner

Impact on Expenditure

Rise in income (Rs.)

Gunalan 25 30 20.00% 6000 5000 -16.67% 3000

Avavali 100 115 15.00% 24500 21000 -14.29% 9500

Sreenivasan 108 120 11.11% 20000 16000 -20.00% 8800

Balakrishna 60 90 50.00% 12000 10500 -12.50% 13500

Rajaram 375 375 0.00% 60000 45000 -25.00% 15000

Anantaraman 150 150 0.00% 27000 22000 -18.52% 5000

Laxmanarayana

240 240 0.00% 36000 32000 -11.11% 4000

Ramanathan 55 60 9.09% 10000 8000 -20.00% 4000

Murugan 60 60 0.00% 10000 8000 -20.00% 2000

[3] The economic benefits arising out of application of ICT has been estimated using

increase in yield and reduction in expenditure. The overall increase in income for

nine families, selected randomly are estimated and presented in Table 8 for the

paddy crop. In the case of paddy, income came mostly from the reduction of

expenditure.

The use of Parry’s Corner was quite pivotal in decreasing the expenditures for the

Paddy farmers. As shown in Fig 6 & 7, we can see that the yield has increased and

the expenditures have decreased in the villages surveyed

EID Parry

21

Fig 6 : Rise in the yield of Paddy Crop

Fig 7 : Change in yield and expenditure

Impact on yield and expenditure for Paddy Crop

-30.00%

-20.00%

-10.00%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

Gunal

an

Sreen

ivas

an

Raj

aram

Laxm

anar

ayan

a

Muru

gan

Impact on expenditure

Perc

en

tag

e c

han

ge

Impact on yield

Impact on expenditure

Rise in yield of Paddy Crop

0255075

100125150175200225250275300325350375400

Gunala

n

Avava

li

Sreen

ivasa

n

Balakr

ishna

Rajara

m

Anant

aram

an

Laxm

anar

ayan

a

Raman

atha

n

Mur

ugan

Yie

ld in

nu

mb

er o

f b

ags

Before making use ofParry Corner

After making use of ParryCorner

EID Parry

22

Analyzing economic benefits for Sugarcane crop

Table 9. Impact on yield and expenditure

Fig 8 : Rise in the yield of Sugarcane

Yield of Sugarcane in tons Expenditure (Rs.)

Farmer Before using Parry’s Corner

After using Parry ‘sCorner

Impact on yield

Before using Parry’s Corner

After using Parry’s Corner

Impact on expenditure

Rise in income (Rs.)

Gunalan 90 100 11.11% 30000 26000 -13.33% 11630

Avavali 550 572 4.00% 165000 143000 -13.33% 38786

Sreenivasan 200 220 10.00% 56000 48000 -14.29% 23260

Ravichandran 162.5 162.5 0.00% 37500 33000 -12.00% 4500

Premkumar 400 440 10.00% 116000 100000 -13.79% 46520

Kumar 350 350 0.00% 103600 95200 -8.11% 8400

Venkatachalapati

300 325 8.33% 60000 50000 -16.67% 29075

Rajaram 720 755 4.86% 225000 195000 -13.33% 56705

Anantaraman 240 270 12.50% 90000 84000 -6.67% 28890

Laxmanarayana 100 104 4.00% 28000 26600 -5.00% 4452

Ramanathan 50 50 0.00% 28500 26500 -7.02% 2000

Murugan 200 208 4.00% 60000 56000 -6.67% 10104

Rise in yield of Sugarcane

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Gunala

n

Avava

li

Sreen

ivasa

n

Ravich

andr

an

Prem

kum

ar

kum

ar

Venka

tach

alapa

ti

Rajara

m

Anant

aram

an

Laxm

anar

ayan

a

Raman

atha

n

Mur

ugan

Su

gar

can

e yi

eld

in T

on

s

Before making use of ParryCorner

After making use of Parry Corner

Farmers

EID Parry

23

A similar exercise was done for the sugarcane as well. The results have been similar

expenditure came down by about 10 percent, as shown in Table 9. The combined

effect of increased income have been captured in Table 10. This clearly indicates

that ICT can have positive effect on incomes of rural families.

Fig 9: Impact on yield and expenditure of sugarcane crop

Impact on yield and expenditure of Sugarcane crop

-20.00%

-15.00%

-10.00%

-5.00%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

Gunala

n

Avava

li

Sreen

ivasa

n

Ravich

andr

an

Prem

kum

ar

kum

ar

Venka

tach

alapa

ti

Rajara

m

Anant

aram

an

Laxm

anar

ayan

a

Raman

atha

n

Mur

ugan

Farmers

Per

cen

tag

e ch

ang

e

Impact on yield

Impact on expenditure

EID Parry

24

Table 6. Impact on farmer’s income

Farmer Rise in income from Paddy crop

Rise in income from Sugarcane crop

Total rise in income from both crops

Gunalan 3000 11630 14630

Avavali 9500 38786 48286

Sreenivasan 8800 23260 32060

Ravichandran -na- 4500 4500

Premkumar -na- 46520 46520

Kumar -na- 8400 8400

Balakrishna 13500 -na- 13500

Venkatachalapati -na- 29075 29075

Rajaram 15000 52890 67890

Anantaraman 4800 28890 33690

Laxmanarayana 4000 4452 8452

Ramanathan 4000 2000 6000

Murugan 2000 10104 12104

Training: one of the main reasons for the success of the ICT initiative by EID Parry

has been the intensive skill development efforts. EID Parry trained both the

franchises and the farmers in the community it operates.

Franchisees

• More than 75 franchisees have been met and 52 selected after careful

scrutiny. 27 locations connected up in the first phase

• Franchisee provides: space for the kiosk, investment and employs an operator

• Profile of operators: local educated unemployed youth, dynamic and

enthusiastic. In most cases related to the franchisee

• These operators have been trained for a week on computers, networking and

some fundamental applications –MS Office, IE5.0 etc.

Farmers

• More than 150 farmers have been met with for understanding information

needs through focus groups and open meetings

EID Parry

25

• The field inspectors make sure that each and every farmer with who he

interacts routinely is educated about the benefits he could reap by making

use of IAL (Indiagriline) and being the member of IAL forum. He also talks to

the spouses of the farmers and facilitates them to form a self-help group

(SHG) consisting not more than twenty women, who then pool some money

by making individual contribution and start some small business.

• Farmer meetings have been held in about 10 locations so far

(approximately 450+ farmers) to demonstrate the portal, encourage usage,

and take feedback

Replicating the experience

Many of the rural ICT initiatives did not succeed because of the absence of skill

development efforts. The Nellikuppam project is being replicated in three other

Sugar factory areas (of EID Parry) in TamilNadu. In the next few months, the facility

will be extended to another 150-odd surrounding villages falling under the 25 km

radius, which would benefit over 25,000 farmers in the region. The replication

involves extending the technologies, franchisee networks and operator training.

These are discussed below.

Technology Relay Base Station (RBS-1) to connect up to 25-30 subscribers operational at Puduppetai. RBS –2 coming up at Kullanchavadi. Franchisee Networks Second Batch of 15 franchisees coming up. Operator Training Training for second batch of franchisees. Refresher training for the First Batch. Replications involved learning from the experience and diffusing the network rapidly.

EID Parry

26

Conclusions

ICT has been helping the traditional agrarian economy. Farmers are able to sell their

products over the Internet; also variety of information is available to them for

enhancing the knowledge and the productivity of the farm output. The survey results

indicate that the benefits came from improving the operational efficiency [5].

The ICT initiative by EID Parry such as launching of the website

www.indiagriline.com and the Parry’s Corner have helped in the elimination of the

middlemen, enhanced earnings for the farmers. The marginal benefits of ICT have

been high as EID Parry used a low cost technology. They were able to create an ICT

platform that helped them to launch a series of services thereby providing for

economies of scope. Platforms are a source for multiple services. The selection of a

low cost option helped them to replicate it to other areas without substantial

investments. For low-density networks, low cost options will have a high savings to

investment ratio.

EID Parry is very active in replicating the experience at other villages also and

spreading the benefits to the untapped grass-root farmers. EID Parry is now trying to

spread the product portfolio for which these services can be offered.

The main reason for the success of the EID Parry experience has been prior

consultation with the beneficiaries. Before implementing the project a detailed

requirement analysis was carried out. This elaborate exercise helped them to

understand the needs comprehensively and then design a system that could meet

most of their needs. Another reason that facilitated the success of the ICT initiative

has been the use of self help groups for interaction and group learning. The fact that

EID Parry has been operating there for a long time in an ethical manner created

mutual trust. This also helped in the rapid diffusion of technology. The intensive

training offered by EID Parry also helped in the rapid diffusion of the ICT. Though

ICT is a new technology platform, the trust created by the company through its

ethical operations helped it to create a climate that was based on mutual trust.

Consultation, participation and collaboration sustained the operations creating a win-

win situation.

EID Parry

27

References

1. http://www.eidparry.com/

2. http://library.thinkquest.org/11372/data/rd.htm?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0625.

3. http://agricoop.nic.in/stats.htm

4. http://www.indiagriline.com

5. Nevin Cohen, E-commerce and the environment, Sustainability at the speed of

light, opportunities and challenges for tomorrow’s society, (Ed. By. Pamlin), pp

62-75, 2002